The present invention relates generally to the field of cloud computing, and more particularly to data center power management.
Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale. At the foundation of cloud computing is the broader concept of converged infrastructure and shared services. Cloud computing focuses on maximizing the effectiveness of shared resources. Usually, cloud resources are not only shared by multiple users but are also dynamically reallocated per demand. This can work for allocating resources to users. For example, a cloud data center that serves European users during European business hours with a specific application (e.g., email) may reallocate the same resources to serve North American users during North America's business hours with a different application (e.g., a web server). This approach maximizes the use of computing power thus reducing environmental damage as well since less power, air conditioning, rack space, etc. are required for a variety of functions. With cloud computing, multiple users can access a single server to retrieve and update their data without purchasing licenses for different applications.
The present availability of high-capacity networks, low-cost computers and storage devices as well as the widespread adoption of hardware virtualization, service-oriented architecture, and autonomic and utility computing have led to a growth in cloud computing. Companies can scale up as computing needs increase and then scale down again as demands decrease.
A data center is a facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems. It generally includes redundant or backup power supplies, redundant data communications connections, environmental controls (e.g., air conditioning, fire suppression) and various security devices. Large data centers, such as the ones that provide cloud computing infrastructure, are industrial scale operations using as much electricity as a medium size city.
In traditional computing, a node is an object on a network. For example, on a home network, a computer, router, and printer might all be nodes. Data centers are essentially networks, with nodes that communicate with each other to solve a larger problem than any singular computer could in a reasonable amount of time. A typical cloud computing data center contains several types of nodes, e.g. controller nodes, compute nodes, storage nodes, etc.